English Lessons Business Expressions Dialog

Business expression #1
The green light. The green light means that you have permission to start something.
Examples:
1) The bank has given us the money. Now we have the green light to start the project.
2) My boss told me that he has received the green light to begin the pipeline design.
3) Our head office in Milan has given the employees the green light to begin construction.
Usually you use this expression with the verbs “have” or “give”, “receive”.

Business expression #2
Red tape. When you have a lot of “red tape”, it means that you have a lot of complicated official procedures and forms.
Examples
1) I would like to buy a car, but there is so much red tape, I’ve decided to wait a while.
2) You must go through a lot of red tape to get a visa in some countries.
3) Our company has to cut through a lot of red tape to do business in Canada.
There are several verbs to use with the expression “red tape” be, cut through, go through

Business expression #3
Face time. When you have face time with someone that means that you are meeting someone, in person or face to face.
Examples:
1) I’ve sent an e-mail to my boss asking him for some face time on Friday to discuss the new project.
2) Yesterday, I had face time with my colleagues to talk about our trip to Milan next month.
3) We will need some face time together to plan the next meeting.
“Face time” can be used with lots of different verbs. There is no plural for face time, so it’s never “face times”.

Dialogue
Good morning, Mr. Roberts? This is Diane from the design department. I’m fine, thank you. Mr. Roberts, I received the message that we’ve been given the green light to begin working on the designs for the new refinery. I’m a little worried that we will have a lot of red tape when we apply for our permits next year. Would it be possible to schedule some face time with you next week to discuss this? Yes, next Monday at 9 a.m. would be just fine. I’ll come to your office. Thank you very much, Mr. Roberts. Goodbye.

Review questions.
My boss said he had to talk to two other managers about my project. Did I get the green light? No.
I took my driver’s test and passed. In one hour, I had my driver’s license. Was there a lot of red tape? No.
I am meeting with Mr. Bates on Tuesday at Starbucks to talk about our new products. Am I going to have face time with Mr. Bates? Yes

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